Seventy-two years ago in 1949, British author George Orwell published his book 1984. It was ostensibly a prediction and perhaps a warning about government over-reach in the future, which for him was 1984. Here are some of the things he mentioned:

  Perpetual War. A form of global tension that never seems to go away and either results in ongoing conflicts, hair-trigger attacks, arms escalation as in the cold war and actual warfare that just seems to move from one location to another. Sound familiar?

  Government Surveillance. In the pre-digital era this seemed impossible on a widespread basis but fast forward to 2021 and look at what we have. We are monitored almost everywhere from GPS, traffic light cameras, CCTV and  SIM cards in our cellphones. But it is not just that we are being watched, in fact we are giving away our info for free. Medical records, insurance companies, credit monitoring, mortgage companies, banks, Amazon, Google, Alexa, etc. have tons of info on us. And if they are hacked, who knows who has it.

  Historical Negationism. Are we learning from our mistakes or are we erasing the uncomfortable parts?

  Propaganda. Well what can I say, it’s rampant but not just in government. The so-called news channels on TV do not deliver news. They deliver what fits their political agenda and do not report what doesn’t. And now we have social media.

  Thought Police. This may perhaps be THE most dangerous. Open exchange of ideas is is actually attacked or possibly blocked Instead of expressing ideas and coming up with solutions to important issues, political lines are drawn, minds are closed and Political Correctness becomes a deterrent.

  George Orwell was sadly correct. We need to keep our minds free.